Though this was the first Phish show after Jerry Garcia's death (at a venue that the Dead played regularly) Jerry's passing drew no mention tonight (that would be saved for the Shoreline show)

The words "Shirley Temple" are sung in the background vocals of a short Wolfman's, making its first appearance since the GameHoist show.

Free gets the extended '95 style exploration in a first-set version and It's Ice is well played. Fishman's I Didn't Know trombone solo is more polished than usual (and possibly the last time Fishman pulled out the trombone for this tune, if this site's notes are correct).

The Fog That Surrounds is introduced by Trey by saying, "Some of you think you know this song, but you don't." It is of course, the reworked Taste, a brief change of form that the band made to this now classic Phish tune.

The debut of CTB is uneventful, but Bag takes us on a slightly longer journey that segues smoothly into the Bowie intro, with a slow jam connecting the two songs. A fast and manic Bowie never moves deep into Type II territory.

Billy Breathes intro is slightly different and the song isn't really finished and the Keyboard Army that follows is short but sweet.

The rest of the show isn't especially noteworthy, with Hello My Baby dedicated to Pete Schall and a surprisingly strong Possum encore. A show that might only interest completists and those seeking out debuts, though the playing isn't bad.

Since there's only one other review, I'll add the thoughts I posted at phishthoughts.com on this 18th anniversary of this show (!):

One of the few Phish shows that happened less than an hour from my home (The others were 8-30-92 [Cal Expo Santana opener, didn't attend]), The Crest, UC Davis ’94 and Arco Arena ’96).

The new songs were interesting, but the show never really took off…not unexpected, since it was the tour opener. But I was hoping for a bit more exploration than we got. Free had a bit of a jam, and I think there was a little exploration during It’s Ice, but the biggest moments were Bowie and Hood (and the Possum encore- no, really!)…I don’t remember Hood hitting the highs to which I had become accustomed, in fact they brought it back down near the end, in what I thought at the time was a nod to the version on the recently released A Live One. Maybe not. Perhaps it was just a miscue.

But I left satisfied, especially knowing that I had 3 more shows in the next 3 days. I was looking forward to the progression to Shoreline, and they didn’t disappoint.

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